STX Finland Oy and Gaiamare Ltd have signed a contract for the construction of an innovative and versatile multipurpose deck cargo vessel. The ship will be delivered during spring 2012 and has a length of 105 meters and a width of 19 meters. The environmentally friendly ship will provide work for about 300 persons.

The concept development for the vessel has been done in close cooperation between STX Finland and Gaiamare. The vessel will have numerous innovations and very high specifications, including the ability to operate efficiently in demanding ice conditions. The vessel is designed for transportation of demanding project cargo, such as offshore wind farm structures, and is also suitable for transporting energy wood in the Baltic Sea region. The vessel includes Double Acting Ship (DASTM) mode, which is developed together with Aker Arctic Technology. The Finnish-Swedish ice class 1A vessel will be the first DAS - dry cargo vessel in the Baltic Sea. The vessel will operate under Finnish flag.

The multipurpose deck cargo vessel is also designed to operate as an oil spill response vessel - both at open sea and in the archipelago. Versatile oil spill response equipment can be installed on the ship. The vessel has structural and built-in tanks with the approximate volume of 2700 m3 for recovered oil, which will significantly increase the storage capacity of current Finnish oil spill response fleet. The diesel electric propulsion supports the diverse utilization of the ship, while being energy efficient and low carbon. The vessel is designed to use alternative bio-oils as fuel. The ship is course stable at very low speed which enables efficient collecting of oil. Due to two electric rudder propellers and two bow thrusters, the ship can also run sideways in open water, enabling even more efficient oil recovering.

"This order is important for STX Turku shipyard. The contract proofs that we are competitive also on the area of high technology and specialized multipurpose vessels", says Jari Anttila, director of STX Turku shipyard. "Designing of the ship will start immediately and the construction will begin in late summer. Following launch of this vessel from the building dock, the construction of the cruise ferry for Viking Line will immediately begin," said Anttila.